Hermitage and Highland Springs ACE Center graduations: 'This is where the journey to fulfill your dream and career begins'

“As you move on, remember your thoughts,” Varina District School Board member Alicia Atkins told graduates of the Advanced Career Education, or ACE, centers at Hermitage and Highland Springs high schools June 14 at Richmond Raceway. “They are powerful and let the light within you continue to shine bright.”

With a 97% pass rate and a 98% graduation rate, the graduates of the centers are, indeed, powerful. The Class of 2021 graduates will pursue various paths, seeking employment, enlisting or enrolling in a college or university after receiving a certificate or license from the ACE centers.

“It is unique in that you have been able to spend time developing skills in an area that you are passionate about and allow you to share mutual interest with peers,” said Dale King, principal of ACE Center at Hermitage.

(View photos from the ACE Centers' graduation here.)

Maaida Farhad, a practical nursing graduate at the ACE Center at Hermitage, advised high-schoolers not to spend their senior year pursuing unnecessary activities. Instead, she suggested, enroll in an ACE Center program in a field you are interested in, because “this is where the journey to fulfill your dream and career begins.”

At the ceremony’s close, Atkins encouraged graduates to be of service to others and continue to develop their talents.

“There is no doubt that what you learn, along with your gifts, will guide you and make room for you in college, in the military, in the workforce or whatever it is you choose to do,” Atkins said.